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<p><a href="../../../editdocs#docs/tasks/inject-data-application/downward-api-volume-expose-pod-information.md" id="editPageButton">Edit This Page</a></p>

<h1>Expose Pod Information to Containers Through Files</h1>




<p>This page shows how a Pod can use a DownwardAPIVolumeFile to expose information
about itself to Containers running in the Pod. A DownwardAPIVolumeFile can expose
Pod fields and Container fields.</p>











<ul id="markdown-toc">










<li><a href="index.html#before-you-begin">Before you begin</a></li>












<li><a href="index.html#the-downward-api">The Downward API</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#store-pod-fields">Store Pod fields</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#store-container-fields">Store Container fields</a></li>












<li><a href="index.html#capabilities-of-the-downward-api">Capabilities of the Downward API</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#project-keys-to-specific-paths-and-file-permissions">Project keys to specific paths and file permissions</a></li>




<li><a href="index.html#motivation-for-the-downward-api">Motivation for the Downward API</a></li>




















<li><a href="index.html#what-s-next">What's next</a></li>



</ul>



<h2 id="before-you-begin">Before you begin</h2>
<p>You need to have a Kubernetes cluster, and the kubectl command-line tool must
be configured to communicate with your cluster. If you do not already have a
cluster, you can create one by using
<a href="../../../getting-started-guides/minikube">Minikube</a>,
or you can use one of these Kubernetes playgrounds:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.katacoda.com/courses/kubernetes/playground" target="_blank">Katacoda</a></li>
<li><a href="http://labs.play-with-k8s.com/" target="_blank">Play with Kubernetes</a></li>
</ul>
 

<p>To check the version, enter <code>kubectl version</code>.</p>




<h2 id="the-downward-api">The Downward API</h2>

<p>There are two ways to expose Pod and Container fields to a running Container:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="../../configure-pod-container/environment-variable-expose-pod-information/index.html">Environment variables</a></li>
<li>DownwardAPIVolumeFiles</li>
</ul>

<p>Together, these two ways of exposing Pod and Container fields are called the
<em>Downward API</em>.</p>

<h2 id="store-pod-fields">Store Pod fields</h2>

<p>In this exercise, you create a Pod that has one Container.
Here is the configuration file for the Pod:</p>

<table class="includecode" id="dapi-volume-yaml">
    <thead>
        <tr>
            <th>
                <a href="https://github.com/kubernetes/website/blob/master/content/en/docs/tasks/inject-data-application/dapi-volume.yaml" download="dapi-volume.yaml">
                    <code>dapi-volume.yaml docs/tasks/inject-data-application</code>
                </a>
                <img src="../../../../images/copycode.svg" style="max-height:24px" onclick="copyCode('dapi-volume-yaml')" title="Copy dapi-volume.yaml to clipboard">
            </th>
        </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
        <tr>
            <td><div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-yaml" data-lang="yaml">apiVersion:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>v1<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb"></span>kind:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>Pod<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb"></span>metadata:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">  </span>name:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>kubernetes-downwardapi-volume-example<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">  </span>labels:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">    </span>zone:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>us-est-coast<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">    </span>cluster:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>test-cluster1<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">    </span>rack:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>rack-<span style="color:#666">22</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">  </span>annotations:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">    </span>build:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>two<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">    </span>builder:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>john-doe<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb"></span>spec:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">  </span>containers:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">    </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>name:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>client-container<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>image:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>k8s.gcr.io/busybox<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>command:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>[<span style="color:#b44">&#34;sh&#34;</span>,<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;-c&#34;</span>]<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>args:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>while<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#a2f;font-weight:bold">true</span>;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>do<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>if<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>[[<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-e<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/labels<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>]];<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>then<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>echo<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-en<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#39;\n\n&#39;</span>;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>cat<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/labels;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>fi;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>if<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>[[<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-e<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/annotations<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>]];<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>then<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>echo<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-en<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#39;\n\n&#39;</span>;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>cat<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/annotations;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>fi;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>sleep<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#666">5</span>;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">        </span>done;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>volumeMounts:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">        </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>name:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>podinfo<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>mountPath:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>readOnly:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#a2f;font-weight:bold">false</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">  </span>volumes:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">    </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>name:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>podinfo<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>downwardAPI:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">        </span>items:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>path:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;labels&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>fieldRef:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">              </span>fieldPath:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>metadata.labels<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>path:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;annotations&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>fieldRef:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">              </span>fieldPath:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>metadata.annotations<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb"></span></code></pre></div>  </td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>

<p>In the configuration file, you can see that the Pod has a <code>downwardAPI</code> Volume,
and the Container mounts the Volume at <code>/etc/podinfo</code>.</p>

<p>Look at the <code>items</code> array under <code>downwardAPI</code>. Each element of the array is a
<a href="../../../reference/generated/kubernetes-api/v1.11/index.html#downwardapivolumefile-v1-core">DownwardAPIVolumeFile</a>.
The first element specifies that the value of the Pod&rsquo;s
<code>metadata.labels</code> field should be stored in a file named <code>labels</code>.
The second element specifies that the value of the Pod&rsquo;s <code>annotations</code>
field should be stored in a file named <code>annotations</code>.</p>

<blockquote class="note">
  <div><strong>Note:</strong> The fields in this example are Pod fields. They are not
fields of the Container in the Pod.</div>
</blockquote>

<p>Create the Pod:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell">kubectl create -f https://k8s.io/docs/tasks/inject-data-application/dapi-volume.yaml</code></pre></div>
<p>Verify that Container in the Pod is running:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell">kubectl get pods</code></pre></div>
<p>View the Container&rsquo;s logs:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell">kubectl logs kubernetes-downwardapi-volume-example</code></pre></div>
<p>The output shows the contents of the <code>labels</code> file and the <code>annotations</code> file:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell"><span style="color:#b8860b">cluster</span><span style="color:#666">=</span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;test-cluster1&#34;</span>
<span style="color:#b8860b">rack</span><span style="color:#666">=</span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;rack-22&#34;</span>
<span style="color:#b8860b">zone</span><span style="color:#666">=</span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;us-est-coast&#34;</span>

<span style="color:#b8860b">build</span><span style="color:#666">=</span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;two&#34;</span>
<span style="color:#b8860b">builder</span><span style="color:#666">=</span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;john-doe&#34;</span></code></pre></div>
<p>Get a shell into the Container that is running in your Pod:</p>

<pre><code>kubectl exec -it kubernetes-downwardapi-volume-example -- sh
</code></pre>

<p>In your shell, view the <code>labels</code> file:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell">/# cat /etc/podinfo/labels</code></pre></div>
<p>The output shows that all of the Pod&rsquo;s labels have been written
to the <code>labels</code> file:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell"><span style="color:#b8860b">cluster</span><span style="color:#666">=</span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;test-cluster1&#34;</span>
<span style="color:#b8860b">rack</span><span style="color:#666">=</span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;rack-22&#34;</span>
<span style="color:#b8860b">zone</span><span style="color:#666">=</span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;us-est-coast&#34;</span></code></pre></div>
<p>Similarly, view the <code>annotations</code> file:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell">/# cat /etc/podinfo/annotations</code></pre></div>
<p>View the files in the <code>/etc/podinfo</code> directory:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell">/# ls -laR /etc/podinfo</code></pre></div>
<p>In the output, you can see that the <code>labels</code> and <code>annotations</code> files
are in a temporary subdirectory: in this example,
<code>..2982_06_02_21_47_53.299460680</code>. In the <code>/etc/podinfo</code> directory, <code>..data</code> is
a symbolic link to the temporary subdirectory. Also in  the <code>/etc/podinfo</code> directory,
<code>labels</code> and <code>annotations</code> are symbolic links.</p>

<pre><code>drwxr-xr-x  ... Feb 6 21:47 ..2982_06_02_21_47_53.299460680
lrwxrwxrwx  ... Feb 6 21:47 ..data -&gt; ..2982_06_02_21_47_53.299460680
lrwxrwxrwx  ... Feb 6 21:47 annotations -&gt; ..data/annotations
lrwxrwxrwx  ... Feb 6 21:47 labels -&gt; ..data/labels

/etc/..2982_06_02_21_47_53.299460680:
total 8
-rw-r--r--  ... Feb  6 21:47 annotations
-rw-r--r--  ... Feb  6 21:47 labels
</code></pre>

<p>Using symbolic links enables dynamic atomic refresh of the metadata; updates are
written to a new temporary directory, and the <code>..data</code> symlink is updated
atomically using
<a href="http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/rename.2.html" target="_blank">rename(2)</a>.</p>

<blockquote class="note">
  <div><strong>Note:</strong> A container using Downward API as a
<a href="../../../concepts/storage/volumes.1#using-subpath">subPath</a> volume mount will not
receive Downward API updates.</div>
</blockquote>

<p>Exit the shell:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell">/# exit</code></pre></div>
<h2 id="store-container-fields">Store Container fields</h2>

<p>The preceding exercise, you stored Pod fields in a DownwardAPIVolumeFile.
In this next exercise, you store Container fields. Here is the configuration
file for a Pod that has one Container:</p>

<table class="includecode" id="dapi-volume-resources-yaml">
    <thead>
        <tr>
            <th>
                <a href="https://github.com/kubernetes/website/blob/master/content/en/docs/tasks/inject-data-application/dapi-volume-resources.yaml" download="dapi-volume-resources.yaml">
                    <code>dapi-volume-resources.yaml docs/tasks/inject-data-application</code>
                </a>
                <img src="../../../../images/copycode.svg" style="max-height:24px" onclick="copyCode('dapi-volume-resources-yaml')" title="Copy dapi-volume-resources.yaml to clipboard">
            </th>
        </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
        <tr>
            <td><div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-yaml" data-lang="yaml">apiVersion:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>v1<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb"></span>kind:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>Pod<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb"></span>metadata:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">  </span>name:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>kubernetes-downwardapi-volume-example-<span style="color:#666">2</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb"></span>spec:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">  </span>containers:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">    </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>name:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>client-container<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>image:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>k8s.gcr.io/busybox:<span style="color:#666">1.24</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>command:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>[<span style="color:#b44">&#34;sh&#34;</span>,<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;-c&#34;</span>]<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>args:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>while<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#a2f;font-weight:bold">true</span>;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>do<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>echo<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-en<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#39;\n&#39;</span>;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>if<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>[[<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-e<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/cpu_limit<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>]];<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>then<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>echo<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-en<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#39;\n&#39;</span>;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>cat<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/cpu_limit;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>fi;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>if<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>[[<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-e<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/cpu_request<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>]];<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>then<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>echo<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-en<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#39;\n&#39;</span>;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>cat<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/cpu_request;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>fi;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>if<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>[[<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-e<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/mem_limit<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>]];<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>then<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>echo<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-en<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#39;\n&#39;</span>;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>cat<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/mem_limit;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>fi;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>if<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>[[<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-e<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/mem_request<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>]];<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>then<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>echo<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>-en<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#39;\n&#39;</span>;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>cat<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo/mem_request;<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>fi;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>sleep<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#666">5</span>;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">        </span>done;<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>resources:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">        </span>requests:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>memory:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;32Mi&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>cpu:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;125m&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">        </span>limits:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>memory:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;64Mi&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>cpu:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;250m&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>volumeMounts:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">        </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>name:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>podinfo<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>mountPath:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>/etc/podinfo<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>readOnly:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#a2f;font-weight:bold">false</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">  </span>volumes:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">    </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>name:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>podinfo<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">      </span>downwardAPI:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">        </span>items:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>path:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;cpu_limit&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>resourceFieldRef:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">              </span>containerName:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>client-container<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">              </span>resource:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>limits.cpu<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>path:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;cpu_request&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>resourceFieldRef:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">              </span>containerName:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>client-container<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">              </span>resource:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>requests.cpu<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>path:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;mem_limit&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>resourceFieldRef:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">              </span>containerName:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>client-container<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">              </span>resource:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>limits.memory<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">          </span>-<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>path:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span><span style="color:#b44">&#34;mem_request&#34;</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">            </span>resourceFieldRef:<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">              </span>containerName:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>client-container<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">              </span>resource:<span style="color:#bbb"> </span>requests.memory<span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb">
</span><span style="color:#bbb"></span></code></pre></div>  </td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>

<p>In the configuration file, you can see that the Pod has a <code>downwardAPI</code> Volume,
and the Container mounts the Volume at <code>/etc/podinfo</code>.</p>

<p>Look at the <code>items</code> array under <code>downwardAPI</code>. Each element of the array is a
DownwardAPIVolumeFile.</p>

<p>The first element specifies that in the Container named <code>client-container</code>,
the value of the <code>limits.cpu</code> field
should be stored in a file named <code>cpu_limit</code>.</p>

<p>Create the Pod:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell">kubectl create -f https://k8s.io/docs/tasks/inject-data-application/dapi-volume-resources.yaml</code></pre></div>
<p>Get a shell into the Container that is running in your Pod:</p>

<pre><code>kubectl exec -it kubernetes-downwardapi-volume-example-2 -- sh
</code></pre>

<p>In your shell, view the <code>cpu_limit</code> file:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre style="background-color:#f8f8f8;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell">/# cat /etc/podinfo/cpu_limit</code></pre></div>
<p>You can use similar commands to view the <code>cpu_request</code>, <code>mem_limit</code> and
<code>mem_request</code> files.</p>




<h2 id="capabilities-of-the-downward-api">Capabilities of the Downward API</h2>

<p>The following information is available to containers through environment
variables and <code>downwardAPI</code> volumes:</p>

<ul>
<li>Information available via <code>fieldRef</code>:

<ul>
<li><code>spec.nodeName</code> - the node’s name</li>
<li><code>status.hostIP</code> - the node&rsquo;s IP</li>
<li><code>metadata.name</code> - the pod’s name</li>
<li><code>metadata.namespace</code> - the pod’s namespace</li>
<li><code>status.podIP</code> - the pod’s IP address</li>
<li><code>spec.serviceAccountName</code> - the pod’s service account name</li>
<li><code>metadata.uid</code> - the pod’s UID</li>
<li><code>metadata.labels['&lt;KEY&gt;']</code> - the value of the pod’s label <code>&lt;KEY&gt;</code> (for example, <code>metadata.labels['mylabel']</code>); available in Kubernetes 1.9+</li>
<li><code>metadata.annotations['&lt;KEY&gt;']</code> - the value of the pod’s annotation <code>&lt;KEY&gt;</code> (for example, <code>metadata.annotations['myannotation']</code>); available in Kubernetes 1.9+</li>
</ul></li>
<li>Information available via <code>resourceFieldRef</code>:

<ul>
<li>A Container’s CPU limit</li>
<li>A Container’s CPU request</li>
<li>A Container’s memory limit</li>
<li>A Container’s memory request</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

<p>In addition, the following information is available through
<code>downwardAPI</code> volume <code>fieldRef</code>:</p>

<ul>
<li><code>metadata.labels</code> - all of the pod’s labels, formatted as <code>label-key=&quot;escaped-label-value&quot;</code> with one label per line</li>
<li><code>metadata.annotations</code> - all of the pod’s annotations, formatted as <code>annotation-key=&quot;escaped-annotation-value&quot;</code> with one annotation per line</li>
</ul>

<blockquote class="note">
  <div><strong>Note:</strong> If CPU and memory limits are not specified for a Container, the
Downward API defaults to the node allocatable value for CPU and memory.</div>
</blockquote>

<h2 id="project-keys-to-specific-paths-and-file-permissions">Project keys to specific paths and file permissions</h2>

<p>You can project keys to specific paths and specific permissions on a per-file
basis. For more information, see
<a href="../../../user-guide/secrets.1">Secrets</a>.</p>

<h2 id="motivation-for-the-downward-api">Motivation for the Downward API</h2>

<p>It is sometimes useful for a Container to have information about itself, without
being overly coupled to Kubernetes. The Downward API allows containers to consume
information about themselves or the cluster without using the Kubernetes client
or API server.</p>

<p>An example is an existing application that assumes a particular well-known
environment variable holds a unique identifier. One possibility is to wrap the
application, but that is tedious and error prone, and it violates the goal of low
coupling. A better option would be to use the Pod&rsquo;s name as an identifier, and
inject the Pod&rsquo;s name into the well-known environment variable.</p>
















<h2 id="what-s-next">What&#39;s next</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="../../../reference/generated/kubernetes-api/v1.11/index.html#podspec-v1-core">PodSpec</a></li>
<li><a href="../../../reference/generated/kubernetes-api/v1.11/index.html#volume-v1-core">Volume</a></li>
<li><a href="../../../reference/generated/kubernetes-api/v1.11/index.html#downwardapivolumesource-v1-core">DownwardAPIVolumeSource</a></li>
<li><a href="../../../reference/generated/kubernetes-api/v1.11/index.html#downwardapivolumefile-v1-core">DownwardAPIVolumeFile</a></li>
<li><a href="../../../reference/generated/kubernetes-api/v1.11/index.html#resourcefieldselector-v1-core">ResourceFieldSelector</a></li>
</ul>






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